Pages: 199-203

1471
CORRECTIONS IN THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE ARTICLE "THE FINAL WORD OF ISKRA
TACTICS OR SHAM ELECTIONS AS NEW
INCENTIVE MOTIVES FOR UPRISING"*.
No. 21 "PROLETARIY," OCTOBER 17 (4), 1905.

The final word of Iskra tactics
or
Sham elections as new incentive motives for uprising.

We have already repeatedly spoken of [complete worthlessness] the unsoundness of
Iskra tactics in the "Duma" campaign. [two] Both basic features of THIS tactic are
unsound: [bear witness to how hopelessly tangled Iskra has become. The first feature]
AND the striving to sup-

port those going to the Duma as "liberationists" on the basis of certain
revolutionary obligations, [the second] and the proclamation of the slogan:
"revolutionary self-government of citizens," a call for nationwide
elections under autocracy
in a Constituent] Assembly,
[, the identification of the organization of revolutionary] self-government with the organization of up-
rising (cf[. Iskra] No. 108, p. 2, col[umn] 1: "the same thing"). We have already explained the complete unsoundness of this identification from the theoretical, historical, and tactical viewpoint.] Now we finally have an attempt to formulate PRECISELY
and officially Iskra tactics in a resolution
of the "Southern Constituent (?) Conference" of the Mensheviks. At this
conference were represented the best forces of neo-Iskraists in
Russia...

Let us not dwell on the editorial shortcomings of
the resolution, which suffers from verbosity and phrasemaking ("the present difficult (?) situation," "working proletariat," etc.
* Works VIII, 296—309. Ed.

200
LENIN COLLECTED WORKS

etc.). Let us turn directly to [the list of absolutely erroneous points and false
directives given to the proletariat by this resolution:] THE FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS.

...This silence is the social democrats' capitulation before the
liberationists. We have already repeatedly
[said] shown*
that it is precisely the interests of monarchical liberal bourgeoisie
that force the liberationists
to limit themselves
to merely "convening"
a Nationwide Constituent] Assembly and to keep silent
about the question of who is to convene it. We have repeatedly shown*
that it is precisely this question that has already been placed in the forefront by the developing revolution, that it is precisely [here that the center of gravity lies in] IN THIS
consists now the fundamental distinction between the opportunist
("compromisist") tactics of the bourgeoisie and the revolutionary tactics [of the bourgeoisie] of the proletariat...

...Now the neo-Iskraists have gone even further backward: they have
completely passed over in silence the temper[ary] revolutionary] government*.
Why? [how? on what grounds?] on what basis? in what have their
views changed? — all this remains a mystery...

...Then the resolution [becomes utterly mired in phrasemaking, repeating the worst mistakes
of Parvus. Only Parvus spoke clearly, while the resolution is hopelessly unclear.] [must]
express this thought [directly and] clearly, rather than create
confusion. If, however, "readiness" is proven by deeds, then why
does the resolution [not shift the center of gravity entirely to deeds? why does the resolution speak only
of the task of supporting by actions the demands of the people, without defining these actions
why does it not name] not speak openly and directly,
what [deeds] "actions" in its view prove readiness? Because in the
resolution is reflected the fundamental error of the new Iskra, which is unable
to draw a distinction between revolutionary democracy and monarchy-liberal
democracy... For us it is especially important now
to expose to the proletariat precisely the direction, precisely the party of the Const[itutional] D[emocrats], which has already shown us [in deed, by example] through its "actions," what demands and how it supports. ..

...What is struggle against the State] Duma? If
understood literally, assuming that the drafters of the resolution
wish to express themselves without equivocation, then this means boycott of the Duma;
for to struggle against an institution that does not yet
exist means
[to prevent its existence]
to oppose
its EMERGENCE... [what exactly] Not in the sense of Mr. M. Kovalevsky, who reads
papers with criticism of the State] Duma? What exactly

THE FINAL WORD OF ISKRA TACTICS
201

is to be called struggle against the State] D[uma]??... And this
[shameless] pitiful confusion is put forward by the most influential
organizations of Iskraists at a moment when the liberationists
are shouting to all of Europe, beating themselves on the chest, that they are going to the State D.
only for struggle, wholly for struggle, that they are "ready" for
complete rupture with the government!

We ask [conscious] readers: has there been found anywhere
more shameful wavering in the tactics of s[ocial] d[emocracy]?..

And Plekhanov, who has discredited himself in the eyes of all Russian revolutionary
s.-d. through his nearly two-year defense of Iskra's "organizational obscurities," will now
try to assure us
that neo-Iskra tactics [are excellent] are good... [perhaps
this ardent defender of Iskra's tactics also finds excellent Trotsky's tactical pamphlet,
published under the editorship of Iskra, Plekhanov included! Let him tell us of this.]

...It is empty, for it has no definite meaning [thanks to] in consequence of
the absence of indication of particular democratic parties or tendencies---- It is harmful, for it clogs
heads with a loud phrase, without advancing genuine work
in explaining the actual significance of actual
democratic parties, their [distinction] class basis, their degree
of proximity to the proletariat, etc.

...Only people trained by the new Iskra to domination of
phrase-mongering can accept such slogans, which [scatter into smoke]
crumble to dust at the slightest touch of sober criticism.
One need only think a bit about what nationwide
elections are in the serious sense of the word, one need only recall what
they demand both freedom of agitation and enlightenment of all the population
and recognition by all the population of such a center or such local
[and central] centers, which would compile lists of all the population...

...Before the victory of the uprising it is absurd even to speak
of a force capable, without courting ridicule, of at least proclaiming [even only]
"nationwide elections," let alone of conducting them... To place in the forefront
this moral force, these loud words about "nationwide-ness"? and to keep silent
in the battle call about direct material force — means to debase the revolutionary slogans of the proletariat [to the most vulgar chatter] to bourgeois-democratic
phrase-mongering.

202
LENIN COLLECTED WORKS

...As if we lack in Russia actual, and not comedian-like, motives
for uprising, as if there are few cases of actual, and not staged [by a handful of phrase-mongers], not fabricated
stirring of the masses! Sham elections will never stir the masses.
...People who respect themselves at all, who take their
words at all seriously, will never allow themselves
[to reach this madness] TO CONCOCT "NEW INCENTIVE MOTIVES FOR
UPRISING."

...Their success depends, first, on the successes of revolutionary agitation
and organization, — precisely revolutionary, and not "broadly
democratic," which Iskra chatters about, for among democrats
the masses are non-revolutionaries...

...Moral superiority has long been undeniable, moral force is already
[an overwhelming force] OVERWHELMINGLY GREAT; without it, of course, there could be
no talk of any upheaval. It is a condition necessary,
but not yet sufficient. But whether it will transform itself into
material force sufficient to BREAK [still very strong] quite serious (let us not close our eyes to this)
resistance of autocracy — this will be shown by the outcome of the struggle. The
slogan of uprising is the slogan of deciding the question by material
force — and in modern European civilization such force is
only military force. This slogan [cannot foolishly and absurdly] cannot be put forward
UNTIL SUCH TIME AS [the moral conditions of upheaval in the masses of the people have not yet fully ripened] the general conditions of upheaval have not ripened, until
definite stirring and readiness of the masses for action have been manifested,
until external circumstances have led to an obvious crisis. ...No,
once the die has been cast, one must [cast aside] abandon all evasions
[no matter under what appetizing sauce, such as "dialectics" of Plekhanov's type, they are served up)], one must directly and openly explain to the broadest
masses what are now the practical conditions for a successful
upheaval.

...And we added that it is reactionary even to think of
shifting the center of gravity to the management of the state rather than to
the construction of the state, that the identification of revolutionary
self-government with revolutionary army is the greatest nonsense,
[for indeed] that the revolutionary] army, having conquered, necessarily
presupposes revolutionary] self-government, while revolutionary] self-government does not necessarily include revolutionary] army.

* The words "for from" were replaced by Olminsky with "for among." Ed.

THE FINAL WORD OF ISKRA TACTICS
203

...First, socialist society is one great consumer
society with systematically organized
production for consumption; second, socialism [is impossible] is not achievable without a powerful, many-sided workers' movement, and
one of these many sides is necessarily consumer] societies...

...You overlooked that under the condition of victory of the uprising all
these fragments of the upheaval will inevitably merge into a whole, finished "epilogue" of the uprising, whereas without the victory of the uprising
the fragments remain fragments, pitiful, changing nothing, only
[virtuosos of] Philistines satisfying fragments.

. . . ¹ On the back of the last page of the manuscript Lenin made a calculation
of letters and printed lines of the article: "25 X 48 = 1200 x 36 = 27 + 5 = 32. 6 [thousands] 6[letters]: 60 = 543". Here, through numerical calculations,
it is established that in printed form the manuscript of the article along with the text of the resolution of
the Menshevik conference will occupy approximately 543 lines. 25 — the number of lines on a
page, 48 — the number of characters in a line, 23 — pages of the manuscript; 27.6 —
27,600 characters in the article, 5 — 5,000 characters in the resolutions; 60 — the number of letters in
a line in "Proletariy."